


the sister i didn't have, moved in

by heart_inmyhand



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Miscarriage, annleigh is grieving, idk why i wrote this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heart_inmyhand/pseuds/heart_inmyhand
Summary: Farrah was sweet at first, the then thirteen-year-old didn’t talk much and was constantly out. In Annleigh’s opinion, the two girls would get on just fine if Farrah ever let her in. She was also very interested in magic and was constantly trying to show Annleigh new tricks that she had learned.Farrah spent the whole of August trying to figure out some disappearing trick but just couldn’t get it (little did either girl know that in just two years Farrah would manage to pull off the world’s greatest disappearing act)
Relationships: Annleigh & Farrah (We Are The Tigers), Annleigh/Clark (We Are The Tigers)
Kudos: 17





	the sister i didn't have, moved in

When Annleigh was little she enjoyed playing on her own, she would have tea parties with her dolls and try to make it all the way across the monkey bars at the park. She also enjoyed playing with Clark, Clark was in her kindergarten class and went to her church so they became fast friends. Sometimes she would play with the other kids as well but it never lasted.

By the time six-year-old Annleigh entered the first grade she was content with her friend group; her best friend was still Clark, just like he had always been, and she had a pretty great group of friends who were all very fun to play with. Although, sometimes Annleigh still liked to play alone with her dolls in her room. She loved being able to have full control of games. Plus, that was when she could spend time with her imaginary friend.

Annleigh had always been very indecisive when it came to names, so her imaginary friend never really had one, although she had been nicknamed Fairy. Annleigh always enjoyed playing with Fairy and saw her as the sister she would never have. As Annleigh got older, she played with Fairy less, and by fifth grade had forgotten about the friend she had come up with to fill the empty space saved for the sister she would never have. 

  
  


The August before Annleigh started highschool her mom remarried, her new stepfather was some man her mom had met  _ who knows where  _ and he came with a daughter. At first, Annleigh was excited at the prospect of having a sister, but then her dad moved out of state to “get away from it all for a bit” and everything started changing around the house and Annleigh was going to  _ high school _ now so nothing was staying the same.

Farrah was sweet at first, the then thirteen-year-old didn’t talk much and was constantly out. In Annleigh’s opinion, the two girls would get on just fine if Farrah ever let her in. She reminded Annleigh of the imaginary friend that got her through what she now refers to as _ the beginning of the end _ . She was also very interested in magic and was constantly trying to show Annleigh new tricks that she had learned. 

Farrah spent the whole of August trying to figure out some disappearing trick but just couldn’t get it (little did either girl know that in just two years Farrah would manage to pull off the world’s greatest disappearing act). Though, it was September when things got bad; Farrah was out almost every night and Annleigh constantly caught her sneaking home past curfew. 

One particularly bad night Annleigh hesitated for a second before walking away from her step-sister. She couldn’t help but notice something was off about the thirteen-year-old, and as Annleigh grew closer she found an answer as to why. _ Alcohol, she’s drunk _ . She didn’t yell at the small girl, instead she helped Farrah get to bed and made her promise not to do it again.

When Farrah broke her promise and stumbled into the house drunk again not even a week later, Annleigh did yell, she said some pretty nasty things that made her wince when she reflected on the argument. At that moment Annleigh lost all faith in Farrah, and she went from being the little sister she never had to the intruder in Annleigh’s home.

The sisters’ relationship continued to splinter and crack as time moved forward and soon it was the night of the annual Giles Corey High cheer team sleepover. Farrah had long given up on magic tricks at this point, just like she had given up studying space when her mum had died in combat when she was eleven. Instead, she partied, drowned her thoughts and feelings with alcohol and if she woke up in an unfamiliar bed, then so be it. She knew nobody on the team liked her, that they would replace her at any given chance, that  _ everyone _ would replace her at any given chance.

Maybe that’s why she went to a party that was farther away than usual, maybe that’s why she drank more, maybe it didn’t matter because she was just the drunk, and always would be. She knew that at fifteen she could be better, she  _ should _ be better but she wasn’t and nobody around her seemed to understand that. In her drunken haze, she didn’t register Annleigh’s harsh calls that were getting louder.  _ Was Annleigh here? Is she getting closer? What’s Clark doing here?  _

Annleigh was beside her now, so was Clark. Annleigh was saying something and she looked pretty mad, Clark was trying to calm her down.  _ Did he care? No, nobody cares. _ Farrah got up as Annleigh pulled her arm, stumbling a bit causing Clark to reach out and stabilize her. Farrah liked Clark’s presence, he was calm while Annleigh was harsh and he often tried to soften her blows. Clark offered Farrah a warm smile and gently guided her to the car. 

Clark and Annleigh sat in the front of the car while Farrah sat in the back, quietly humming along to whatever was on the radio. As Clark drove Annleigh couldn’t help but look behind her at Farrah, the smaller girl tapped her fingers against the side of the car. Farrah’s eyes were glazed over, the girl was conscious but not really seeing the world around her; she would never admit it but seeing her sister like this scared Annleigh to no end. She truly did love the girl deep down but she was still too angry to accept this. 

Soon enough they pulled into Riley’s driveway, Annleigh got out of the car and gave Clark a quick kiss, thanking him for driving them and then she grabbed Farrah’s arm to drag her into the house. When they got to the basement Farrah went from being quiet to argumentative and standoffish, she also now had a water bottle that definitely didn’t have water in it,  _ “I swear I took that when I took her flask.”  _ Before long Farrah was picking a fight with Chess and Kate but Annleigh just tunned it out until Kate and Farrah were being separated, followed by Kate storming out.

“I’ll go talk to her.” With that Chess left after her friend. After an awkward moment, everyone else started to filter out. Annleigh went upstairs and pulled out her phone to text Clark, she didn’t hear Farrah following her up. 

“I could’ve used your help.” Farrah paused for a moment, taking a step closer, “I’m sorry, ok? I just thought- I didn’t think…” 

Annleigh shook her head and sighed, annoyed with the immature girl. She didn’t look up from her phone as she answered, “Yeah, that’s not new.” 

Farrah huffed, “Can you put Clark away and look at me?” She moved closer to Annleigh again, trying to grab at the girl’s arm. 

Annleigh just rolled her eyes and pulled her arm away, “I just need a second.”

Farrah moved forward again, this time reaching over Annleigh to try and grab the phone, “No, Annleigh. Give me the phone.” Annleigh’s phone fell to the ground, breaking on impact. Both girls jolted forward towards the phone. 

“Shit” Farrah grabbed the phone, panicking as she tried to turn it on, “Um, I’m sure it just needs a minute! Put it in rice maybe?” Farrah tries, but it only gets Annleigh more upset. 

“Stop!” Annleigh snaps, causing Farrah to take a step back. “You weren’t even supposed to have your phone; you broke the rule”

Annleigh just rolls her eyes, “You’re not supposed to be drunk Farrah! You’re not supposed to be living at my house! I’m not supposed to be wasting all my time babysitting a stupid child.”

Farrah looks down at her feet, ashamed, “I’m sorry. I wanna be a good sister.” 

Annleigh huffs again, only getting angrier, “You are not my sister.” She then pushes past Farrah, heading for the kitchen. 

The rest of the night passes in a blur, Clark broke in and proposed only for Cairo to interrupt, eventually, Kate came back but there was no sign of Chess or Farrah. This didn’t concern Annleigh, Farrah could do what she wanted. That was until they found Chess dead and all hell broke loose. Their phones were missing and there was still no sign of Farrah or Reeses, now Annleigh was panicking because that’s her sister, whether she likes it or not. 

Riley ran back into the house, causing the others to follow after hearing Reese’s scream. They followed the sound to the upstairs bathroom, which was covered in blood. If Annleigh thought her night couldn’t get worse there sat Clark, her amazing boyfriend and best friend, dead with his head resting on the toilet and a look over her shoulder confirmed her greatest fears. Farrah sat in the shower covered in blood, not breathing. Annleigh rushed over to her little sister’s body and let a sob escape her as she held Farrah’s cold, lifeless body. “I should've been here, I shouldn’t have walked away, I'm sorry. I’m so so sorry.” 

Soon she was ushered away from the bathroom and next thing Annleigh knew they were blaming the freshman, Mattie for the murders. Farrah’s dad rushed to her, still unaware of what had transpired in the house, he hugged her for a long time before pulling away and asking where Farrah was.

“She’s gone, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Annleigh fell back into his arms, breaking down as he soothed her. 

The next week was the funeral and Annleigh couldn’t bring herself to go to Clark’s instead she stayed home and burned his sweater and the pictures.  _ They were together when they died, they had it coming. _ Farrah’s funeral may have been the hardest few hours of her life, it had been an open casket which just made it worse. Farrah’s hair that had been in braids when she died was now curled nicely, and she wore a sweet dress but this wasn’t Farrah, this wasn’t her  _ sister _ . Farrah almost always had a mischievous smirk and a glint in her eyes that had faded in recent years, her sister was immature and caring and insecure and so full of life. Now she was just _dead_.

Farrah’s door had been closed and her room left untouched even a month after her death, the now family of three had silently agreed that doing anything to it made it official, Farrah wasn’t coming home. It was a gloomy Tuesday in February when Annleigh found herself sitting on Farrah’s bed, a pen and paper in her hand. She took a minute and a few deep breaths before she started to write.

  
  


_ Hey Farrah, it’s been a while.  _

_ I guess I should start out by saying I’m sorry; what I said was awful and stupid, you are my sister and it shouldn’t have taken losing you to see that. I tried so hard to convince myself you and Clark were together, together because how does someone kill a child for no reason. I know now that some people are just that cold blooded. You must have been so scared and I don’t know how I didn’t hear you scream, how I didn’t know. _

_ You would have been 16 today Farrah, you would have begged mom and dad (sorry, is that weird? I don’t want you to think I’m replacing you by calling him my dad, I know he’s yours) to let you drive and Clark would have sat in the passenger seat to help you. I would have joked about not going anywhere near any vehicle you are driving but sat in the back anyway and you would have complained about how short you are.  _

_ Riley is in jail now, by the way, and Cairo is the captain, Eva Sanchez is the new flyer, Reese is the new base and the team is trying to heal. I guess I realized I couldn’t move on until I’ve apologized and maybe this will help me feel closer to you, I really don’t know. I don’t know why I was so cold and shut you out, I’d always wanted a sister and I remember how awful it was when my mum had lost her baby when I was about 6. _

_ I came up with an imaginary friend to fill the space I had made in my heart for my little sister. Her name was Fairy and she was a lot like you. As I got older I forgot about Fairy, until you came into my life. I love you, Farrah, I always have and I always will. You were the best thing to ever happen to me and I’m sorry I treated you poorly. You are my sister and an amazing one at that. I love you so so so much and I promise I won’t forget you, I promise I’ll hold on to you and your memory for the rest of my life. _

_ I guess this is goodbye,  _

_ All my love, _

_ Annleigh _

As Annleigh drifted off into a peaceful sleep Farrah smiled, her sister would be alright.


End file.
